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Page 1 of 6 “Failing fat” is a recently used term in certain medical journals to describe fat cells that aren’t functioning correctly, affecting the function of other tissues and ultimately causing poor health for the individual.1 How can fat fail? Well, consider that the primary functions of fat are: a) to buffer energy (fat calories) and b) to signal fat stores to the body so that behavior and metabolism may be modified accordingly.1,2
Bodybuilders have a different view of fat. In their eyes, failing fat is any fat that doesn’t disappear when cardio, caffeine and caloric deficit are combined— possibly along with certain cutting drugs such as clenbuterol or growth hormone. For a bodybuilder, there is no function for body fat (of course, this is an extreme dramatization of the point, but in fact, bodybuilders are penalized if they appear onstage with prominent subcutaneous fat).
Additional Energy to Function
Is it possible that bodybuilders fail to discharge body fat because the fat they have is failing? What about the rest of America? The “No Child Left Behind” act worries that Johnny can’t read, but what about his failing fat? After all, over 18 percent of children are overweight or obese due in part to their 30 hours of television viewing, consumption of sweetened beverages and lack of physical activity.3-5 In fact, bariatric surgery in children tripled between 2000 and 2003.6 Perhaps a look at what constitutes a “failing fat cell” and the effects of treatment may suggest whether this is a matter bodybuilders need to consider.
As mentioned above, fat cells need to perform two general functions— buffer energy and allow the body to gauge energy (fat) stores through hormonal signaling. Failing to perform either function can lead to serious malfunctions in other body systems such as eating behaviors, cardiovascular health or glucose intolerance (pre-diabetes).
Buffering energy means that the fat cell will absorb fatty acids when there’s an excess present in the blood, and it will release fatty acids when the rest of the body needs additional energy to function. If the fat cells were to absorb fatty acids all the time and never release them, they would enlarge and people would be forced to eat every few hours in order to supply the calories necessary to live. Otherwise, the liver and muscle stores of sugar (glycogen) would become depleted and proteins would be broken down to shuttle Amino Acids into the fuel-burning pathways, depleting muscle and leading to hypoglycemia and pronounced weakness. This situation is not seen in healthy people.
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Research and Review 
